Trade commission to discuss Volcker rule today

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will meet today to discuss a ban on proprietary trading, commonly referred to as the Volcker rule.

The 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires the five U.S. regulatory agencies to provide input on the proposed ban before Congress votes on it.

"We're entrusted by Congress to figure out how to prohibit proprietary trading so taxpayers don't stand behind these institutions, but permit market-making, which is important to markets, and permit hedging, which helps lower risks of the institutions," said Gary Gensler, chairman of the commission, during a congressional hearing last week.

Consideration of the ban comes after JPMorgan Chase & Co. announced that the company lost $2 billion last quarter from proprietary trading based out of its London office. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon will testify in front of the Senate Banking Committee on June 13, according to CNN.

Executives from several major banks and investment firms are also scheduled to speak at the commission meeting today. Firms such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase have objected to the Volcker rule, saying the restrictions it would impose are too heavy and there needs to be exemptions for hedging and market-making, according to Bloomberg.